When Jeanelle Valet learned that the city planned to close P.S. 92, the Bronx elementary school her three children attend, she struggled to understand why.

She knew the school had a history of low performance, but it seemed to be working for her children. And it didn’t take much research to find other schools with lower attendance rates and similar test scores that avoided a spot on the closure list.

“I have gone through a lot of data for all these other schools,” Valet boomed through a megaphone as she stood on the steps of the education department’s headquarters, where advocates and parents gathered this week in protest. “There are other schools on the ‘Renewal’ list that aren’t getting closed that should be closed.”

On Wednesday, an oversight panel will vote on the city’s plans to shutter 13 schools — including P.S. 92 and seven others in the city’s “Renewal” improvement program — that officials decided are too low performing or have shed too many students to keep open. It’s the largest single round of closures since Mayor Bill de Blasio took office in 2014.

School closures are inherently disruptive and controversial — even schools with dismal academic records can inspire fierce loyalty from families and educators. The outcry against closures was loud and sustained under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who shut down dozens of low-performing schools and replaced them with new ones.

De Blasio has weathered a much smaller backlash because he has shuttered far fewer schools and on account of his $582 million Renewal program, which has flooded low-performing schools with extra social services and academic support rather than immediately closing them. Yet his approach has invited its own set of critiques.

The fact that de Blasio promised to “move heaven and earth” through his Renewal program to revamp troubled schools has prompted even some allies to question whether the program has fallen short. And the small number of closures has left parents like Valet wondering why their school was targeted when others were spared, and has fueled suspicions among some that de Blasio may be making space for more charter schools. (An education department spokesman denied that and said only four of 18 schools set to be closed or merged will be replaced by charter schools.)

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Now, even as families at some of the schools rally against the closures, they are also wondering where their children will end up if the plans go through. While the city has promised to place them in higher-performing alternatives, many are skeptical — and still waiting for details.

“No one has told us anything,” Valet said.

The Panel for Educational Policy — an oversight board where the majority of members are appointed by the mayor — will vote on the closures Wednesday evening. In the past, it has signed off on nearly all of the city’s proposed closures, though five of the 13 members voted against shuttering a Bronx middle school last year. If the latest round of closures are approved, 26 of the original 94 Renewal schools will have been closed or merged with other schools.

Since launching the Renewal program in 2014, de Blasio has made clear that he would consider shutting down schools that failed to make “fast and intense” improvements after receiving extra support. Still, that has not insulated him from attacks from all sides: Critics of his approach say he should have closed the worst-off schools sooner rather than spending years trying to save them, while some ideological allies question his decision to close any schools at all.

“This administration, like its predecessor, relies too frequently on school closings as a remedy for failing schools,”Public Advocate Letitia James wrote in a recent letter to schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña. “Rather than helping students, closures disrupt whole communities.”

Even the union-backed Alliance for Quality Education — which has generally endorsed de Blasio’s turnaround strategy — implied in a statement last week that the city was partly to blame for some schools’ failure to improve, saying that the Renewal program’s support for schools has been “uneven.”

The group also argued that the education department “arbitrarily” targeted schools for closure — echoing a complaint made by many families and faculty members.

For instance, supporters of P.S./M.S. 42 in Queens have pointed out that the school has made gains on its test scores and quality reviews — even outperforming a number of other Renewal schools. Yet it is one of the schools slated for closure.

“We look carefully at a school’s test scores, attendance, graduation rates, classroom instruction, leadership and the school’s overall trajectory for success,” education department spokesman Michael Aciman said in a statement. “For each school proposed for closure, we believe that students will be better served at a higher performing school.”

But critics say it’s often unclear how those criteria are applied to individual schools.

“There’s a lack of clarity, a randomness, in how schools are closed,” said Angelica Otero, executive director at Bronx Power, an organization that has organized parents against the closures. “That’s what feels really unfair.”

Adding to the frustration, de Blasio recently reversed his administration’s decision to close a Brooklyn high school. Because he cited community pressure, the reversal raised questions about whether politics play a role in closure decisions — while also giving other schools hope that protests might change the mayor’s mind.

“We were like, ‘Okay, it’s possible,’” Otero said when Brooklyn Collegiate was taken off the closure list. “Let’s keep working.” (Aciman, the education department spokesman, said the city reversed the planned closure after the community raised concerns about “limited high school options in Brownsville.”)

While families fight the closures, they are also worried about what will happen if they lose. City officials have promised to help students in the closing schools enroll in ones that are better performing. However, a Chalkbeat analysis found that students leaving closed schools often attend others that still perform below the city average.

Meanwhile, several parents said they are anxiously awaiting the individual enrollment help that city officials say is coming in early March after the closure plans are formally approved. For now, many parents like Magdalana Espinosa, who has children at two different Renewal schools slated for closure, do not know where their children are headed after their schools shut down.

City University Boys charter school appeals to Tennessee board to stay open

A small middle school for boys has appealed the decision of Shelby County Schools not to renew its 10-year charter.

City University Schools filed its appeal to the State Board of Education late Friday, calling the district “unfair” for not renewing one its two middle schools — effectively closing it after the end of this school year.

“We look forward to… an opportunity to share our vantage point that we believed hampered our ability to garner the immediate renewal from Shelby County Schools for which we believe …our school earned and is qualified,” the appeal said.

If the appeal is successful, the middle school for boys, which as of August enrolled 88 students, could remain open for another 10 years.

A hearing with the state board will be set for January, said a board spokeswoman.

Shelby County Schools rarely recommends closing charter schools, but lately has ramped up oversight to evaluate charter school applications, and existing schools with low test scores and poor operations. When charter schools open, they are awarded 10-year charters, making this the first time a charter school has existed long enough under Superintendent Dorsey Hopson’s administration to be eligible for renewal.

Since the first charter school opened in Tennessee in 2003, the state board has only overturned 15 out of 72 school board decisions to approve, revoke, or renew a charter. That includes a vote in 2012 about two City University schools, when the state board kicked back a decision to the Memphis school board.

Rise & Shine Tennessee

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The Shelby County Schools board voted 6-3 earlier this month to close City University Boys Preparatory in line with a recommendation from district staff, after looking at 10 years of state test data, finances, and measures of school environment such as student discipline. (Three other schools’ charters were renewed.)

PHOTO: Laura Faith Kebede/Chalkbeat

Lemoyne Robinson, chancellor of City University charter schools.

Lemoyne Robinson, the charter network’s chancellor, said the district was partially to blame for low test scores because it defaulted on promised academic interventions and resources that he said were part of an annual fee the school paid to the district. The network’s appeal describes expectations such as curriculum support for teachers and student data management systems.

When the city school system folded into the county system in 2013, those resources disappeared, Robinson said.

Chalkbeat examined the contract, but did not see the resources Robinson cited in the appeal.

“The lack of access to these resources upon which the school had relied was disruptive and greatly affected the school and the academic attainment of its scholars,” network leaders said in his letter to the state. “Within a year of the scholars’ assessment, scores regressed.”

Even if there weren’t issues with test scores, Robinson said the district failed to properly evaluate the entire 10-year history of the school by the deadline outlined in state law. That technicality should throw out the district’s case, he said. Shelby County Schools said “the school received all of the pertinent performance data for which they are held accountable.”

If implemented, the plan could take up to 10 years, impact some 15,000 students, and cost the district at least $700 million.

“We’re building schools. We’re taking kids in the inner city who have been traditionally underserved and putting them in brand new learning facilities,” Hopson said, presenting the proposal to the Shelby County Schools board, which has the final say on school closures.

Hopson, who leaves office next month for a job at insurance giant Cigna, is proposing all but two of the closed buildings be demolished — saving the district about $102 million in deferred maintenance on those structures. Shelby County Schools business operations chief Beth Phalen estimated the consolidation would also save the district between $15 million and $20 million annually and said that money could then be in the classroom.

The proposal echoes a model Hopson and county leaders have favored — building new neighborhood schools, even if that means long-standing schools nearby would have to close. One such example is Westhaven Elementary, which opened in 2016. It combined three elementary schools and quickly became overcrowded, as families sent their students to the new building after years of choosing other schools. Westhaven Elementary was one of two schools in the district that the state has recognized two years in a row for high academic growth.

For context on previous school closures and how Shelby County Schools got here, read our primer.

Before putting the Hopson’s plan into motion, Shelby County Schools staff will propose rezoning 22 schools for next school year. That would give some 3,200 students priority to attend a school closer to home. (You can view rezoning maps here by selecting a map and clicking “open.”)

Board members Tuesday had a slew of questions about plans for individual schools, but also wondered how academic and extracurricular offerings would be maintained under the new arrangement.

“What was at the school they left and how will that be transferred to where they’re going?” said board member Teresa Jones. Hopson said that would be considered before consolidating the schools.

Notably, the plan does not include recommendations for how to merge schools with those in the state-run Achievement School District. Hopson said he spoke with state leaders yesterday about “renewing commitment” to collaborate on future building plans for the next phase.

The district would also need buy-in from the county commission, which funds new construction, and Hopson is scheduled to present the plan to the commissioners Wednesday.

Rise & Shine Tennessee

“Chalkbeat grounds me in the work going on here. It’s a lifesaver for understanding the lay of the education land.” — Clare L.

Phalen said the analysis of the district’s facilities is not complete and still needs to address alternative schools, technical education, and state-run schools.

Below is a list of the schools that would feed the new ones being proposed:

Build a new Woodstock K-8: This is an updated version of a previous recommendation Hopson presented in 2016 to build a K-12 school at the site. The plan would consolidate all of E.E. Jeter K-8, Northaven Elementary, Lucy Elementary, and part of Woodstock Middle into the new building.

Build a new Raleigh-Egypt K-12 campus: Consolidate the rest of Woodstock Middle, part of Barret’s Chapel K-8, and all of Bolton High, Trezevant High, and Raleigh Egypt Middle-High, Lucy Elementary, and Egypt Elementary.

Build a new elementary in Orange Mound: Consolidate Bethel Grove Elementary, Dunbar Elementary, and Cherokee Elementary into a new building.

Build a new high school in the Parkway Village area: Consolidate all of Wooddale High, Sheffield High, and Oakhaven High into the new building.

Build a new JP Freeman Optional School with the existing student population.

Build a new elementary school in Hickory Hill: Consolidate all of Crump and Ross elementary schools into a new building.

Build a new high school in Cordova or convert Mt. Pisgah into a 6-12: Some students from Cordova High, Kingsbury High, White Station High, Germantown High, and Bolton High would attend the new high school. For the 6-12 option, some students from Bolton High, Germantown High, Germantown Middle, Cordova High, and Cordova Middle would be moved to Mt. Pisgah Middle.

And two new school buildings, Alcy Elementary and Goodlett Elementary, are already in process. The new Goodlett Elementary would bring in students from Knight Road Elementary, along with some from Sheffield and Getwell elementary schools. The new Alcy Elementary would bring in students from Charjean and Magnolia elementary schools.

These schools would close and consolidate into existing buildings that are in better condition:

Consolidate Alton Elementary into A.B. Hill Elementary.

Consolidate Westwood High into Mitchell High.

Consolidate Hamilton Middle into Hamilton Elementary, making it a K-8 school.